BASKETBALL mentoring and support programs across the Central Highlands are at risk of being crippled by clubs exiting Ballarat’s major tournaments.
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Ballarat lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic benefits from a downturn in Basketball Ballarat’s annual Queen’s Birthday weekend junior tournament. Figures show the June event generated $1.5 million last year and only stacked up to $1.25 million this year, according to Ballarat Regional Tourism. This was largely due to the no-show of big representative clubs like Werribee that chose to play elsewhere and avoid Ballarat’s aging and bursting facilities.
BRT chief executive officer Noel Dempsey said the drop was significant for a fixture that had long dominated the city’s calendar.
“The June long weekend basketball tournament is undoubtedly one of the city’s biggest events, so much so that we avoid scheduling any other events on this weekend as the town’s accommodation is at it’s capacity,” Mr Dempsey said.
Flow-on effects could soon be felt by neighbouring Central Highlands towns like Ararat, which had referee support from Ballarat for top-grade basketball finals this week. Extra Ballarat event revenue subsidises free community clinics and mentoring in the game.
Team entry revenue was down $16,000 with 46 fewer teams in action. Combined canteen sales across venues was also down $5,911 for the three-day event.
Hog’s Breath Cafe Ballarat, a player sponsor for Basketball Ballarat’s Miners and Rush, also felt the blow. Ballarat franchisee Jen Graham said customers were down 20 per cent on this month’s long weekend, which traditionally fed basketball families.
“We roster, prepare food and purchase beverages accordingly,” Ms Graham said. “Couple this with the fact that our staff costs were higher and the food purchased and prepped were not sold, the weekend cost us drastically.”
Basketball Ballarat and the City of Ballarat remain lobbying for federal grants to expand high-quality indoor stadium space and to be competitive with rival regional stadiums in bidding for tournaments, matches and major non-sport events.